| | | |  |  | | November 7, 2007 | | |  |  | | |
SMART TRAVELER
| | 1. Travel Complaints Online | |  The Web changed the way you buy travel. Now it's changing the way you complain about it. More airlines, hotels, car rental companies, and travel agencies are encouraging their guests to submit grievances online. One new airline, Skybus, even uses the Internet exclusively. "Don't call us," it tells passengers on its site. "We don't have a phone number." So how do you make sure your concerns are heard? It's still best to start the grievance process by drafting a letter on your computer. Then, browse over the company's site and cut and paste the relevant portions of the letter into the form. For more Smart Traveler tips, click here.
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PHOTO GALLERY
| | 2. Tallinn's Old Town | |  "In Tallinn's Old Town, a waitress serves patrons at the medieval restaurant Olde Hansa. Founded by Danes in 1219, the historic heart of Tallinn is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. "For centuries, the stout towers and thick walls that still encase most of Old Town protected the merchants of the Hanseatic League, a medieval network of European cities," says author Priit Vesilind, explaining that Estonians "have endured occupiers for the past 800 years—Teutonic knights, Danish and Swedish conquerors, Russian tsars, German Nazis, as well as the Red Army. All left their grand designs and detritus behind. Old Tallinn looked much the same in 1944, when my family and I fled Estonia as the Red Army of the Soviet Union arrived to occupy it for the following 48 years." Click here to see more scenes from this picturesque country.
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ULTIMATE TRAVEL LIBRARY
| | 3. Books That Transport Us | | "My introduction to India was a summer vacation during a two-year teaching sojourn in Japan," says Traveler's new book review columnist, Don George. "I flew directly from orderly, personal-space-obsessed Tokyo to Calcutta. Yes, the phrase for that would be "culture shock." But over the course of two weeks journeying from cool Darjeeling in the north to tropical Trivandrum in the south, something about India got under my skin: the raw energy of the place, the dignity amid the chaos, the serious approach to spirituality and sensuality. So it was with delight that I dived into Paul Theroux's new fictional trilogy, The Elephanta Suite. Loosely linked in plot—characters from one story reappear as asides in another—each of the three illuminating novellas revolves around Americans who have journeyed to India on a quest. Against three distinctly different backdrops, from a seemingly tranquil New Age retreat to the seamy underbelly of Mumbai to the Americanized sheen of Electronics City, Theroux transports us into the heart of the country, and illuminates the Indian panorama—and paradox—with a piercing light." Read more from the renowned travel writer and editor's column, "Trip Lit." |
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THE REAL DEAL
| | 4. Shenandoah National Park Resort from $99 per Night | | Located just 90 miles from Washington, D.C., Shenandoah National Park offers visitors natural beauty, wildlife viewing, and a lodging deal for November, the last month the lodge is open before closing for winter. The Late Fall Special includes accommodations for two at Skyland Resort and complimentary breakfast. The package is valid for Sunday through Thursday nights until November 20 (excluding Sunday, November 11). Rates begin at $99, based on double occupancy, and include taxes. To book or for more information, go online or call 800 778 2872. |
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INTELLIGENT TRAVEL
| | 5. Walk Score Helps You Hoof It | | Can you walk to the drugstore from your house? Your hotel? We stumbled upon a nifty site called Walk Score that will tell you in seconds flat. The site plugs itself as a resource for real estate buyers, but we think it's also invaluable for travelers when picking a hotel or getting an idea of the distance between attractions. Who wants to stay in a hotel miles from nowhere? A cute café, restaurant, or shopping district within walking distance can mean the difference between a crummy vacation and one filled with local charm. It can also alert you ahead of time if you'll need to rent a car. Scores range between "Walker's Paradise" (90 - 100) and "Driving Only" (0 - 25). How walkable is your community? To find out or to read more from IT, click here. | | |  |  |
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| "Construction dust is everywhere. Jackhammers begin at dawn and run til late in the evening. Red Xs are spray painted on buildings about to be razed...Ring roads circle these new cities, one on top of the other, pushing further and further out into what was previously the Chinese countryside."
—Elizabeth Economy, from the book Inside China | |
Buy this book from National Geographic Books.
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